Plantible Foods, a duckweed protein ingredients developer, announces the launch of its first product, Rubi Whisk — a plant-based egg replacer for baking goods, gluten-free products, pasta, and other applications.
Founded in California in 2018, Plantible Foods has developed a technology to extract a particular protein dubbed RuBisCO from the highly sustainable aquatic plant Lemna, commonly known as duckweed.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”In over a decade of formulating vegan baked goods, I haven’t found a protein solution that works nearly as well as Plantible’s” [/perfectpullquote]
RuBisCO contains all nine essential amino acids and can mimic and replace animal proteins. Rubi Whisk is the first of many plant-forward solutions to replace animal proteins in meat and dairy alternatives, sports, and adult nutrition products, explains the duckweed company.
“For too long, consumers have had to make trade-offs when choosing plant-based or gluten-free foods, compromising on taste and texture and often settling for less delicious and nutritious products,” said Tony Martens Fekini, co-founder and CEO of Plantible Foods.
Duckweed macarons
In baking applications, the new plant-based egg replacer is said to outperform the versatility of conventional eggs, providing excellent binding, emulsification, and solubility. It also offers high-foaming capacity and moisture retention. Moreover, the protein powder is neutral in color and taste and is allergens-free, explains says Plantible.
The company’s first partner, New York City’s vegan baking shop Sweet Maresa’s, will debut Rubi Whisk in macarons, with new applications coming this summer.
“In over a decade of formulating vegan baked goods, I haven’t found a protein solution that works nearly as well as Plantible’s ingredients do. Not only do their protein ingredients work better than any other plant-based ingredient on the market, but they essentially function just like egg whites in my macarons,” said Maresa Volante, founder of Sweet Maresa’s.
Sustainable proteins
Plantible operates a duckweed aquafarm at its R&D facility in Vista, California. The company recently opened a 140-acre commercial production facility in Eldorado, Texas, to scale its commercial production (hundreds of metric tons) to supply global customers.
Duckweed is considered one of the world’s most sustainable and nutrient-dense plants. According to Plantible, besides not using land and pesticides, it requires ten times less water per kilogram of protein than soy and doubles in mass every 48-72 hours. The Texas farm, for example, recycles 95 percent of water inputs, according to Plantible. In the US, duckweed protein is self-GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe).
In 2020, the company raised $4.6 million to develop its proprietary protein extraction platform. To date, reportedly, Plantible has received investments from Korean CJ CheilJedang and Kellogg’s venture arm eighteen94 capital, raising over $30 million for its revolutionary duckweed protein.
“Our ingredient solutions are solving these challenges and more, enabling bakers to produce goods that are more nutritious, delicious, and sustainable for the planet – while enhancing their appeal to consumers,” said Martens.
